MESA, Ariz. — The roll call of forgettable pitchers getting major-league starts with the Cubs since Theo Epstein took over as president includes Chris Volstad, Justin Germano, Jason Berken, Randy Wells and Scott Baker.

MESA, Ariz. — As Cubs' pitchers and catchers reported to their spring training facility Thursday, Cubs' attorneys and paralegals reported to a U.S. District courtroom back home in Chicago.
The players may have little in common with the legal...

BELLEVILLE -- Former Major League Baseball pitcher Randy Wells is opening a sports training facility in southern Illinois.
The Belleville News Democrat reports that Wells and partners are opening the indoor facility in Belleville, where players can...

The Cubs decided to wait until Wednesday for Jorge Soler’s major league debut because of the long flight today from Seattle to Cincinnati.
Soler was playing for Triple-A Iowa Monday night in Tacoma when he got the news of his promotion, shortly...

One of the most interesting scouting reports on Chicago Cubs rookie standout Kyle Hendricks was provided Tuesday night by first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
“He works well, he works fast,” Rizzo said after Hendricks pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings...

A pitching staff that included Ryan Dempster, Paul Maholm, Matt Garza, Jeff Samardzija and Carlos Marmol went belly up in 2012, despite prolonged stretches of dominance from those four starters and the closer.
The Cubs finished 24th among all major league teams with a 4.51 earned-run average, with the starters ranking 23rd (4.52 ERA) and the relievers finishing at 27th (4.49). The Cubs also issued the second most walks (573) in baseball, while recording the fourth fewest strikeouts (1,128).
It was an...

Newly acquired veteran Rodrigo Lopez will start Monday for the Cubs against Houston and Matt Garza, who is on the disabled list, will throw on the side before Sunday's game to see if he is ready to go back in the rotation.
Lopez was acquired from the Braves' Triple-A team Thursday and threw a side session Friday.
"It’s not his first rodeo. I expect he’ll handle everything real well and pitch his game," manager Mike Quade said.
The Cubs sent Casey Coleman to Triple-A Iowa to make room for...

En route to 91 losses last season and a radical regime change, the Cubs were outscored by 102 runs. As it happens, half of those can be put down to talent and half of them to playing the game well.
Bill James tracks manufactured runs, both created and allowed. He defines manufactured runs as those on which two of the four bases result from something other than station-to-station baseball.
The key to manufacturing runs is good baserunning and situational hitting, and nobody does it better than the...

Shortly after learning two starting pitchers were being placed on the disabled list, the Chicago Cubs had to regroup to play the Diamondbacks Wednesday in the finale of the opening homestand.
"I feel bad for the guys involved, but it's part of the deal," manager Mike Quade said. "You move on. . . and deal with the guys who are healthy."
Quade sent Ryan Dempster to the mound Wednesday looking for a sweep of Arizona after DL-ed Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner had helped provide victories the previous two...

In an effort to ignite the lineup, manager Mike Quade batted Tony Campana in the leadoff spot as the Cubs faced the Pirates Saturday.
Campana had appeared in eight games and started his first game Thursday against the Mets, when he went 3-for-4.
The other change in the Cubs lineup had Lou Montanez starting in right field, with Randy Wells making his first start since coming off the disabled list. The lineup:
Campana, cf
Barney, 2b
Castro, ss
Ramirez, 3b
Soriano, lf
Montanez, rf
Pena, 1b
Hill,...